Following a nationwide tournament that saw players from across the UK form darts teams and compete at their local Marston’s pubs, 16 finalist teams went head-to-head in the Grand Final on Friday 10 April. The Dog’s Bollogs from Wednesfield emerged victorious, taking home the title along with a £10,000 cash prize.
Made up of 4 players, John, Mark, Matty and Tony, The Charny Army won their place at the Grand Final after competing at their local pub, The King’s Arms, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Marston’s teamed up with darts legend ‘Cool Hand Luke’ Humphries on the Cool Hand Cup for a second year, with over eleven thousand locals forming 700 teams in pubs across the UK, stepping up to oche to secure their place on the leaderboard. The highest-scoring teams from each region progressed to regional heats, where pub goers competed for their place in the Grand Final.
Hosted at The Boundary in Alfreton, Derbyshire, on Friday 10th April, the Grand Final saw 16 teams go head to head at traditional 501 darts, advancing through heats, quarter and semi finals, and eventually the grand final.
The Dog’s Bollogs, representing the West Midlands region, battled it out against Barlow’s Babes from Wales in the final, tying at three legs each before they claimed victory.
Among the remaining finalists were The Enforcers from the East Midlands, Hull’s Best from Hull & Humber, Shambles C from Leicestershire, Millrace Massive from Staffordshire, Hesketh from Manchester, It’s Coming Home from Shrewsbury & Telford, The Chequered Flag from East Anglia, Gloucester Boys from the South West, Tripple Threat from York & Leeds, The Charny Army from the North East, The Four Bulls from Lancashire, Ango All Stars from Liverpool & Cheshire, The Hollingwood from Eastern, and The Dell from the South.
At the end of the tournament, The Dog’s Bollogs were presented with the Cool Hand Cup trophy and a cheque for £10,000, before getting the chance to play against Luke Humphries.
John Scott, Captain of the Charmy Army, said:
“The Cool Hand Cup Grand Final was such an unreal experience. I’ve never been to a darts competition before so to have my first one be a national final that I’m competing in is absolutely amazing.
We set off at 6 am to make sure we got to the Grand Final in time, and the early morning was more than worth it! The atmosphere was fantastic, and we loved meeting the other players and experiencing the community feeling created by pub darts. It was amazing to meet Luke Humphries – he had a good bit of craic! He came to watch the semi-finals and finals with all of the players, which was surreal.”
John Green, Director of Operations at Marstons, said:
“It’s been a true pleasure to bring the Cool Hand Cup back to over 500 pubs in partnership with Luke Humphries. This time, we invited teams to enter the tournament, and it’s been incredible to see darts and pub culture bringing people together, with over 11,000 people entering up and down the country.
This year’s Grand Final at The Boundary was an amazing evening, the crowd were fantastic and really created an atmosphere to rival Ally Pally. After a nail-biting final, we’d like to offer our congratulations to the Dog’s Bollogs team, as well as all our other competing finalists.”
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